


I Want to Convey it to You

by Notadream



Category: Love Live - Fandom, Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (Video Game), ラブライブ! 虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会 | Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Idiots in Love, One Shot, Setsuna-centric, i still love ayumu tho, pretty much follows the anime up to the episode ayumu goes yandere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:42:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28235625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Notadream/pseuds/Notadream
Summary: The School Idol Club, noticing the tension between Yuu and Ayumu, try to help them resolve whatever issues they're having. Setsuna, in particular, does her best to support Yuu. Of course, that's all she wants to do. Because that's what Setsuna Yuki does best - support others at her own expense. And that's what a good student council president does, right?sort of a setsuna-centric fic that lightly touches on the other pairings, with more of the focus being on setsuyuu.
Relationships: Asaka Karin & Konoe Kanata & Emma Verde, Asaka Karin/Emma Verde, Miyashita Ai/Tennouji Rina, Nakasu Kasumi/Ousaka Shizuku, Takasaki Yuu/Yuuki Setsuna
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	I Want to Convey it to You

Setsuna pursed her lip as she glanced over the words in front of her for the third time. Once again, even though she was reading slowly, and murmuring the words quietly to herself in order to better understand the contents of the page, the words continued to slur together into mush in her brain.

She let out a frustrated groan and dropped the paper onto her desk. Clearly, she wasn’t going to get any work done in this state. And this fact only proved to make her more frustrated. Setsuna Yuki wasn’t one for inefficiency, and this lack of progress was, well, very inefficient.

Setsuna curled a piece of hair that had fallen out of one her braids behind her ear and peered out the window. The sun was shining brightly onto the Nijigasaki campus, and students were outside chattering away to each other, eating lunch and soaking up the sun.

Ever since Yuu had come up with the idea of the School Idol Festival, Setsuna had been pouring virtually all of her time into it. She had been coming up with ideas for at it with home, staying late after school with Yuu to discuss it, and generally just putting a lot of her mind towards it. Thus, it was inherent that she would begin to slack on her student council duties.

Setsuna had been scrambling to catch up with things she had fallen behind on. Even though her student council was very reliable, and certainly could manage on their own without her, she _was_ still the president. They obviously wouldn’t be happy if she just dumped all of her responsibilities onto them.

Doing student council work at home was always an option, but even more important than the student council was her schoolwork. Her parents would be absolutely livid if her grades slipped even slightly, which is why she never dared to do anything other than schoolwork in front of her parents. Plus, she really didn’t want them to see how much she was struggling with balancing everything as well.

All in all, it was a disastrous situation, which was why she was now sacrificing her lunch hours to catch up on everything she was behind on.

However, things weren’t going according to plan.

_‘God, I need to chill,’_ Setsuna thought as she blinked back into focus. She turned her attention back towards her desk, forcing herself to look at the daunting stack of papers seated on it.

As she reached out for the top paper on the stack, her mind drifted to what had happened that morning. She had made good habit of linking up with Yuu and Ayumu before school started, so she had been waiting patiently outside for them to start the school day.

However, when one of them had finally shown up, it had only been Yuu. Ayumu was nowhere to be seen.

Not only that, but Yuu was acting extremely weird. Yuu was a pretty personable person, always good at making conversation, and was one to always start the day with a big smile on her face.

But she was none of those things that morning. She was silent, kept to herself, and had a very awkward air about her. None of her replies to what Setsuna said were longer than two or three words.

The whole thing was terribly strange, and it had left Setsuna reeling for the rest of the day. She didn’t know why it had bugged her so much – people had off days all the time, she should really just give Yuu a break. Maybe she just had a bad sleep?

Setsuna inhaled deeply before exhaling, her grasp on the paper slipping slightly as she frowned.

Maybe the reason it bugged her so bad was because it _was_ Yuu.

Rarely did Setsuna not look forwards to practice, but today was one of those days. Something was gnawing at her, a bad feeling, and usually her instincts were pretty accurate.

However, it wasn’t like she could just up and not show. People would wonder where she was, and it would just become a whole mess.

Perhaps things would be completely normal, and she was just overthinking it. It wouldn’t be the first time Setsuna had done that, and with a little hope in her chest she walked into the club room.

Immediately Setsuna’s hopes were dashed. The tension in the room was thick; Setsuna could feel it just from entering the room from the hall. It was divided, too – Ayumu sat by herself on the couch, and Yuu was seated at the table looking as out of sorts as she had that morning.

The only other person in the room was Ai, who had a puzzled look on her face as her eyes darted from Ayumu to Yuu and back again.

“G-Good afternoon, Ai-san,” Setsuna eventually said, forcing her best smile as if to ignore whatever was going on.

Ai looked over at Setsuna, relief flooding her face.

“Setsu-chan!” Ai said, scrambling over to the girl in her excitement which caused Setsuna to lean back slightly. “Do you know what’s up with these two? I said hi and they both totally ignored me.”

“I’m not sure if they meant to,” Setsuna said as she glanced over at Yuu who maintained that distant look in her eyes.

“They’re like zombies,” Ai said, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s bizarre. Did they have a fight?”

Setsuna shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“Well _Ai’ll_ get to the bottom of this!” Ai said with a grin, strutting over to the table before slamming her palms onto it. Yuu jolted to attention, looking at Ai with wide eyes.

“Ai-san!” Yuu yelped, the shock remaining on her face for a few moments before it transitioned into a scowl. “What the heck?”

“What? You were lost in la-la-land and that was the only way to free you!” Ai said. “At least now I see that you aren’t a zombie after all.”

“Zombie?” Yuu repeated. “What do you mean?”

“It really doesn’t matter,” Ai said as she pulled up a seat to sit next to Yuu. Setsuna approached as well, but she didn’t sit down, merely hovering a couple feet way from Ai. “So, what’s up with you and Ayumu?”

“Me and Ayumu?” Yuu said, having the gall to look surprised at the question. Setsuna watched as Yuu’s gaze flickered over to Ayumu briefly, who still looked completely out of it. “N-Nothings up, of course.”

“Well that was convincing,” Ai said with a frown. “It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me, but you could cut the tension in here with a knife.”

“R-Really?” Yuu said. She scratched the back of her neck anxiously. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I had a crappy sleep last night, so I’m feeling a little off is all. Ayumu must have had one too.”

Ai looked over at Ayumu. “Right,” she said, rubbing her chin in thought.

Setsuna willed up the courage to take the seat to the other side of Yuu. Right as she sat down, however, she noticed Yuu visibly stiffen, and her confidence was slightly shaken.

Nonetheless, she pushed forwards. “Yuu-san, if there’s really something going on, you know you can talk to us, right?” Setsuna said with a smile. “Ayumu too, of course! We’d do whatever we could to help you guys out.”

Yuu had been averting her gaze while Setsuna spoke, but finally she looked over, and green met gray.

“S-Setsuna-san…” Yuu said softly, and Setsuna felt a strange tickle in her chest. Their gazes locked for a few moments, and the tickle slowly transitioned to a surge of warmness. Setsuna sucked in a small breath, wondering how they had gotten so close. Had Yuu pushed her chair closer? Or were they just…

“Uhh…” Ai said in the distance.

“I’m here!” a voice shouted, and Yuu shot away so quickly that she almost knocked over her chair.

“Hey, Kasukasu!” Ai said, waving to Kasumi from her seat. “And the whole first year trio is here!”

“Don’t call me that!” Kasumi shrieked before turning her attention to Yuu. “Senpai, I’m glad you’re so excited to see me! This is the treatment cute Kasumin deserves.”

“I don’t think that was in response to you, Kasumi-san,” Shizuku pointed out, noticing the strange look on Yuu’s face. “In actuality, she doesn’t seem very pleased.”

Kasumi, however, was too busy fervently complimenting herself to pay Shizuku’s words any heed.

“I expect the same treatment from you, Shizuko,” Kasumi finally concluded.

Setsuna looked up at Yuu, who was now standing rigid, her gaze on Ayumu once again. Setsuna, curiously, followed her gaze, and immediately her heart stopped.

Ayumu was looking right back at Setsuna. It wasn’t a glare by any means, but it wasn’t a particularly happy expression. Actually, it was almost like there was a deep sadness in her eyes.

“I-I’m going to head home early today,” Yuu eventually said, garnering the attention of everyone in the club room. “Sorry, I’m just not feeling well. I’ll be here tomorrow though.”

Before anyone could even say anything, Yuu zipped out of the room, rounding the corner just as the third years were approaching the door.

Karin stepped into the room with a puzzled expression.

“Where’s Yuu-san zooming off to?” Karin asked, glancing at the girls in the room as if awaiting some kind of explanation.

“Beats me,” Ai said, leaning against the back of the chair so that it tipped onto the back legs. “She’s been acting really weird, though.”

“Maybe she had a test today and didn’t do so well?” Rina suggested, holding the board in front of her face with a concerned expression.

“I know how defeated I can feel when I _rarely_ get a bad test mark, but I’m sure a little Kasumin cuteness could cheer her up!” Kasumi suggested.

“Rarely, right,” Shizuku repeated as she joined the other at the table. She ignored Kasumi’s complaints. “I don’t think Yuu-san’s the type of person to react like that to a poor performance.”

“Yeah, Yuu-san’s always bright and optimistic, like a fluffy pillow,” Kanata said with a yawn as she leaned against Emma.

“That has absolutely nothing to do with a pillow,” Karin said with a roll of her eyes, earning her a smack on the arm. “Ow…Emma!”

“Karin-chan, you shouldn’t be so harsh,” Emma said. Emma patted Kanata gently on the head. “Good job, Kanata-chan! Your similes are great!”

However, Kanata was already fast asleep, so neither the insult nor the compliment had affected her that much.

“We need to get right to the source!” Ai said, rising from her seat. “Ayumu, do you know why Yuyu is so upset?”

“Yeah,” Setsuna said, rising from her own seat as well. Ayumu had long since abandoned her gaze and was now staring at the ground again. “Is something the matter?”

The clubroom quickly grew silent as all eyes were now on Ayumu. The clock continued to tick in the background as everyone awaited Ayumu’s response with bated breath.

Ayumu gripped her pants tightly, and she parted her lips as if to speak. But then she abruptly stood up, her face neutral as she looked at everyone.

“I’m really sorry, I’m not sure what’s up with Yuu,” Ayumu said. “I think I’ll be leaving as well, though. I’m not feeling well either. I hope you guys have a good practice.”

Ayumu forced a smile before she exited the room nearly as quickly as Yuu had. Everyone watched her go, not knowing what to say in order to get her to stay.

Setsuna bit her lip as Ayumu exited the room. What could possibly be going on?

“Sheesh,” Ai said as she dropped back into her seat. “What was that?”

“Something must have happened,” Emma said sadly. Kanata, as quickly as she had nodded off, had woken back up.

“Ayumu-chan looked really sad,” Kanata said with a frown. “I’ve never seen her with that expression before.”

“Senpai too,” Kasumi said. “She usually is so happy. It was weird.” 

“I wonder what could have happened?” Shizuku said.

“I wish they could tell us,” Rina said as the board frowned.

“Do you happen to know anything, Setsuna-san?”

Setsuna, having been lost in thought, looked up to see Karin looking at her attentively.

“Me?” Setsuna repeated.

“Yeah, I mean, you’ve been hanging out with both of them for some time now. And you’ve also been spending a lot of time with Yuu-san,” Karin pointed out. “I’m just wondering if maybe either of them has said anything to you?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Setsuna, and she scrambled for something to say. Unfortunately, she was as much in the dark as the rest of them.

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t know anything,” Setsuna admitted. “Everything was fine yesterday.”

“So, something must have happened last night,” Ai suggested.

“I guess all we can do is speculate,” Emma said with a frown. “I hope they’re both okay.”

Silence enveloped the room, and uncertainty began to creep in. Yuu was pretty much their de facto leader, and without her there, they were lost as to what to do. Should they just practice like nothing happened? What about planning the School Idol Festival?

“Well, whatever their reason for fighting is, they sure have bad timing,” Karin said with a frown. “I don’t think we should try to plan anything for the School Idol Festival without them here, so we might as well just call it today.”

“No!” Kasumi cried. “I was looking forward to practice today!”

“I agree with Karin,” Ai said. “I’m feeling pretty unsettled after everything that happened. We should all just take a break and regroup tomorrow.”

“Mm, hopefully they’ll have figured things out by then,” Kanata said.

“I don’t know; I have a bad feeling,” Shizuku muttered.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Karin said. “Right, Setsuna-san?”

“R-Right,” Setsuna said. But she knew better.

They didn’t have to wait and see. Things weren’t going to be resolved by tomorrow.

After having prepared for bed, Setsuna slipped under her covers. It was a calm, peaceful night; her parents were already fast asleep, and it was dark outside with not even a peep to be heard.

Even so, Setsuna felt extremely restless. Majorly due to the events of the day, of course.

_‘I wonder what could have happened between the two of them.’_

Setsuna tossed and turned in bed, trying to think up some explanation for the sudden strange energy between Yuu and Ayumu. Setsuna wasn’t the most observant when it came to other’s thoughts and feelings, so it wasn’t shocking to her that she hadn’t noticed the buildup to whatever drama was going on between the two.

However, there was one scene that kept playing in her mind.

It was the short chat she had shared with Ayumu when they had gone to get drinks together just the other day. For whatever reason Yuu had come up, and when Setsuna had brought up Yuu playing the piano for her, Ayumu’s demeanor shifted.

_‘Maybe I should reach out to Yuu-san’._

Setsuna reached over to her nightstand, grabbing her glasses and slipping them on before she grabbed her phone. The screen was blurred for a few moments before her eyes adjusted to the bright screen in the spitting darkness.

Setsuna navigated to the messaging app, tapping Yuu’s name before she was suddenly overtaken with anxiousness. What exactly should she say? Would saying something just make it worse?

Setsuna chewed her lip and thought deeply about the situation. Perhaps she just shouldn’t say anything. But on the other hand, she wanted Yuu to know she, and the rest of the school idol club of course, were there for her. And Ayumu too.

“Why do I have to be like this?” Setsuna muttered under her breath, smacking her forehead with a groan. If only she had better socialization skills. She had been alone for most of her life, after all, until she joined the school idol club. The logical part of her supposed it was only natural that she struggled with such simple things like reaching out to a friend in need. However, that didn’t mean the emotional side of her had to like it.

Throwing caution to the wind, Setsuna rapidly typed a message onto the screen and clicked the send button before she could have cold feet.

Her heart thumped in her chest as she awaited a reply. It was pretty late (which, for Setsuna’s standards, was 10 o’clock) – Yuu could have already been fast asleep. Setsuna thought about just setting her phone down and awaiting a reply in the morning. But then how could she sleep knowing Yuu might have replied?!

The phone suddenly vibrated in her hands, causing her heart to spike in surprise. She peered down at the screen, seeing Yuu’s name on the front with a notification indicating she had received a message.

Setsuna’s finger shook slightly as she swiped the screen to the right to unlock it, Yuu’s message appearing on the display.

**To:** Yuu Takasaki

**Message:** Hello Yuu-san! Sorry to bug you if you are heading off to bed. Just wanted to check in and make sure you were okay!

**Time Sent:** 22:18

**Message From:** Yuu Takasaki

**Message:** Hey Setsuna-san! Thank you I really appreciate the message :). I’m good! Just had a bit of a weird day is all. I’ll be better tomorrow though!!!

**Time Sent:** 22:20

Setsuna frowned at the contents of the message. She would have liked to believe that Yuu was genuinely doing better, but she didn’t. And she doubted that the reason Yuu was acting so strange was because of a “weird day”.

**To:** Yuu Takasaki

**Message:** That’s good to hear. Well I hope you have a good sleep then! Talk tomorrow?

**Time Sent:** 22:21

Setsuna didn’t even have to wait a minute for Yuu’s reply.

**From:** Yuu Takasaki

**Message:** Sounds good! You better get some sleep too. It’s past your bedtime, isn’t it? :P

**Time Sent:** 22:21

Setsuna couldn’t fight the smile that spread across her cheeks. It was such a simple message, nothing complex about it, but it just made her so happy.

**To:** Yuu Takasaki

**Message:** Ha-ha, very funny. I’ll have you know that 10:30 is usually my bedtime, so I’m right on time.

**Time Sent:** 22:22

**From:** Yuu Takasaki

**Message:** You are such a dork. Get your beauty sleep :)

**Tim Sent:** 22:23

Setsuna gently set her phone onto her nightstand and pulled her blanket over herself. Then, with a burst of excitement, she threw her hands around her pillow and then squealed into it.

_‘Wait, what am I even freaking out about anyways?’_ Setsuna thought to herself as her grip slipped from the pillow. Was she really this starved of social interaction that even simple text conversations that barely spanned three minutes brought her so much joy?

“I’m a sadder person than I thought,” Setsuna mumbled to herself as she gently grasped onto her pillow. Her eyes flickered closed softly and she tenderly slipped into a dreamless sleep.

As Setsuna sat in the school idol clubroom the next day, a conversation she had had with her mother many times was replaying in her head.

It was a discussion about insanity. As her mother frequently stated, the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Of course, this wasn’t true. Setsuna knew this because she had looked it up in a dictionary after their first conversation about it. The quote that her mother her used as in fact from Einstein, not the dictionary.

Regardless, the key point of the conversation remained. Setsuna’s mother had used the saying to drum good study tactics into her. If she performed poorly on a test or assignment, there was clearly something wrong with her study habits, and she had to adapt. It would be ‘insanity’ to continue to use the same study habits if they were also continuously leading to an undesirable outcome.

Setsuna supposed that it was also ‘insanity’ to expect things to have been resolved between Yuu and Ayumu when nobody had actively done anything to resolve it.

“It looks like Ayumu isn’t showing up today,” Ai said as she glanced up at the clock. It was already twenty minutes passed when club usually started, and the pink haired girl was nowhere to be seen.

“That’s not good,” Kanata said from where she sat at the table, her chin resting on her palm. “I didn’t see her at all today either.” 

“Shizuku-san and I ran into her at lunch,” Rina said, holding up the board with a sad expression depicted on it. “We invited her to have lunch with us, but she said she was busy. She still seemed really upset.”

“This is so frustrating! I wish we knew what was up with her!” Kasumi said with a pout, her cheeks puffed up comically in evident irritation.

“Kasumi-san, there’s no reason in complaining about it. That won’t help anything,” Shizuku pointed out.

“I can’t help it. I’m an emotional girl!” Kasumi said. “Where’s your sympathy? Your compassion?!”

“Quit being such a baby,” Shizuku said. Kasumi made a shocked face as if she had been mortally wounded, but Shizuku hardly looked affected. “We need to be feeling sympathy for Ayumu-san, not you.”

“Total knockout…” Kasumi muttered under her breath.

“I wish I had an idea of a way to resolve this,” Emma said with a frown. “Usually I’m good with this sort of thing, having so many little siblings. But Ayumu-chan can be hard to read.”

“Well, there definitely is a way to resolve this,” Karin said, her gaze landed on Yuu. “And a good place to start is with you, Yuu-san.”

Yuu, who had once again been totally zoned out for the entire duration of the club meeting, snapped back into focus at Karin’s remark.

“What do you mean?” Yuu asked. Setsuna saw Yuu’s lower lip quiver as she swallowed – clearly, she was nervous, and the look in Karin’s eyes wasn’t comforting in the slightest.

“Listen, I’m not trying to interject myself into your personal problems,” Karin said. “But whatever is going on between you and Ayumu-san is affecting the rest of the club.”

“I t-told you, I really don’t know what’s going on,” Yuu said.

“Yuu-san, there’s no point in lying about,” Karin said. “Even if you were the most convincing liar in the world, Ayumu-san’s demeanour already says everything. Clearly something happened.”

At this point all eyes were on Yuu; it was impossible not to look at her. The girls watched with anticipation as Yuu nervously toyed with the hem of her jacket.

“I-I, well, you see, it’s j-just that…” Yuu continued to stumble with her words, desperately grasping for something to say. It was painful to watch, and the other girls began to exchange unsure looks.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything,” Setsuna eventually intervened, placing a hand onto Yuu’s shoulder. “Clearly there’s a lot going on, and I bet it’s hard to talk about.”

Yuu looked over at Setsuna, and Setsuna could see the tension release from her shoulders as she nodded slowly.

“Y-Yeah, I’m sorry,” Yuu said.

Setsuna gently squeezed Yuu’s shoulder before dropping her hand. The two continued to hold their locked gaze before Yuu eventually broke it to face everyone else.

Although she still looked tentative, she wasn’t even close to the nervous wreck she had been just a few moments ago.

“Everyone, I want to apologize for my strange behaviour. Something did happen between Ayumu and I, and I understand that it is affecting the club in a negative way. I take full responsibility for that and I am very sorry. However, I don’t really feel comfortable discussing it yet. I hope you guys can understand?” Yuu said articulately, sounding more like herself. She looked at her fellow clubmates with a hopeful gaze, her eyes flickering from one girl to the next.

There was a beat of silence before Ai spoke up.

“Yeah, no problem at all,” Ai said with a shrug. “And don’t worry about the club. We just wanna make sure you guys are _Aight!_ ” Ai then snickered behind her hand. “Get it? _Aight?_ ”

“Is this really the time for a pun, Ai-san?” Kasumi barked in annoyance.

“C’mon Kasumi-san, it was pretty funny,” Rina said, her voice completely monotone as she held up the board. It depicted a drawing of her crying with laughter.

“R-Rinako! You have to always be on my side!” Kasumi said.

“C’mon Kasukasu! You know Rinari always picks the side of good humour!” Ai said cheerfully, throwing an arm around Rina’s shoulder and pulling her close while she laughed.

“That’s not good humour. And don’t call me that dang it!”

“That was a terrible pun,” Karin said, her face deadpan. Her brows furrowed, however, when she heard light giggles right next to her, and turned to see Emma’s cheeks flushing red as she laughed. “H-huh? Emma?”

“W-What?” Emma said as she chuckled. “It was funny!”

“In what world was that…What? Not you too Kanata-san!” Karin said as her gaze shifted to Kanata, who was chuckling right along with Emma.

“It’s funny how excited Ai-chan gets at her puns,” Kanata said between giggles. “It’s so endearing. It reminds me of Haruka-chan!”

“Well, I guess it’s important that some people get some enjoyment from it,” Karin said, a smile creeping onto her face as she looked away.

“Hmm? Is that a smile I see?” Emma said playfully.

“O-Of course not!” Karin said, a faint blushing rising on her cheeks.

“And now she’s blushing Emma-chan~” Kanata said.

“Oh really?” Emma said. “You’re so sweet, Karin-chan. You just love it when we’re happy, don’t you?”

“That’s not it!” Karin said, her cheeks darkening further and further. “Well, not that I don’t like seeing you happy or anything, but that’s not what I’m blu – I mean, I’m _not_ blushing, nor am I smiling!”

“And now she’s rambling. So sweet!” Kanata said, and her and Emma descended into another wave of fierce giggles as Karin groaned into her hands.

“I need new friends,” she muttered.

“Anyways,” Shizuku said, turning her attention to Yuu. “Ai-san is right, puns aside. We just want to support you and Ayumu-san in whatever way we can. So, if you need time to resolve things, then that’s perfectly okay.”

“Thank you, Shizuku-san,” Yuu said, looking genuinely touched. “And thank you, everyone. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course, senpai! Sweet Kasumin would do anything for you!” Kasumi chirped.

“Would you like to take another break then, Yuu-san?” Rina asked. “If you want to, that’s okay.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point Rina-san,” Setsuna said. “If you aren’t feeling it, we can take today off, Yuu-san.”

“No,” Yuu said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to get behind. Plus, this is a great way to get my mind off things.”

“Are you sure it’s okay if we do things without Ayumu-chan, though?” Emma said. Yuu visibly deflated at that, and Emma immediately looked apologetic. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

“No, it’s not that Emma-san. You’re totally right. It would be wrong if we did anything without Ayumu,” Yuu said with a frown.

“I have an idea,” Ai said.

“If it’s reconciliation through puns then I’ll have to pass,” Karin said.

“It’s not that. Although, that is a good idea,” Ai said, rubbing her chin in thought. “Before I get off track, I say we end club today – “

“Whaaaaat?”

“– and resume things tomorrow regardless of whether things are better or not. But I think a group of us should reach out to Ayumu and try to have her participate in planning things. We shouldn’t leave her out, and she’s probably feeling pretty lonely right now.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Shizuku said with a nod. “It’s not easy to deal with things all by yourself.”

“And this way we can still continue with club activities,” Kanata said optimistically.

“I also think that’s a good idea,” Setsuna said. “We don’t want the responsibilities for the School Idol Festival to pile up, but we also certainly don’t want to leave Ayumu-san out of the loop.” Setsuna directed her gaze to Yuu, whose brows were furrowed in thought. “Does that sound good to you, Yuu-san?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a really good idea,” Yuu said. “At least for now. Eventually I’ll need to resolve things, but I just…don’t think I can do it right now.”

“That’s totally okay! We’ll figure it out together!” Emma said with a supportive smile.

“Exactly. We may be solo idols, but we know how to figure things out like a team!” Kasumi said, rising from her seat with a victorious grin. She pumped a fist into the air. “Who’s with me?!”

The clubroom immediately descended into crippling silence as the girls all stared at Kasumi. Impressively, she was able to maintain the confident façade for a few moments before she started to tremble with uncertainty once she realized nobody else had said anything.

“Just sit down, Kasumi-san,” Shizuku said gently, grabbing the back of her friend’s shirt and pulling her down.

“You guys are so fake,” Kasumi whimpered.

“Well, whatever that was aside,” Ai said, rising from her chair triumphantly. “Operation help Yuyu and Ayu-Pyon is a go!”

The rest of the group cheered in response, clapping and exchanging happy grins. Except for Kasumi, who looked absolutely gutted.

“Why the hell did nobody do that for me…?” Kasumi said.

Seeing as club was now cancelled, everyone quickly packed up their things and headed out. Setsuna had planned to just head straight home, not in the mood to stay and do student council duties after having done it the entire lunch hour (which didn’t go well), but her plans quickly changed.

She had just walked out the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned around to see Yuu standing there, her cheeks slightly red and her breathing quick as if she had been running.

“Yuu-san?” Setsuna said. “I thought you already left.”

“No, not yet,” Yuu said. “I was just sort of meandering around the school and then I saw you leaving and thought, well, I don’t know…Maybe you want to walk home together?”

Setsuna was momentarily caught off guard. Not necessarily by the offer itself, but by Yuu’s behaviour. Normally she wasn’t so skittish when asking about something as simple as walking home together. Setsuna supposed it largely had to do with the events of the past few days.

“Of course, Yuu-san. That would be great,” Setsuna said.

A bright smile descended onto Yuu’s face. “Okay, great!”

The two started walking, and Setsuna hoped that things would just slip back into how they usually were, but unfortunately silence quickly overtook both of them. It was selfish to think Yuu would just go back to being her chipper self after what happened in club that day, but it was something she had hoped for nonetheless.

“So, how are you feeling about what happened today?” Setsuna asked slowly, testing the waters.

Yuu was silent for a second, and Setsuna wondered if Yuu just plain hadn’t heard her, but eventually the girl spoke.

“I’m conflicted. All in all, I think it was the best possible outcome,” Yuu said. “But it still is a crummy situation.”

“I understand,” Setsuna said with a nod. “It’s nice to know everyone is supporting you, but at the end of the day, it’s a problem only you and Ayumu-san can resolve.”

“Exactly,” Yuu said. “And that’s the part I’m most worried about.”

Setsuna’s gaze flickered over to Yuu, whose eyes were downcast. Setsuna studied Yuu’s face briefly, looking over Yuu’s bright green eyes, the contours of her face, the bridge of her nose. Her eyes bounced from feature to feature, as if Yuu were some sort of fascinating work of art, and Setsuna was deeply interested in her design.

“We’ve never fought like this before,” Yuu eventually said, snapping Setsuna out of her reverie. “We’ve had little arguments before, all friends do, but nothing on this scale.”

Setsuna nodded as she absorbed the information. She tried to think of good advice to give Yuu, but truthfully, she had never been in this situation. She had never gotten close enough to someone to have an argument of this level with them. Heck, she rarely even fought with her parents; she just did whatever they expected of her.

“S-Sorry, I’m not trying to dump my problems onto you,” Yuu said with a frown after Setsuna hadn’t responded.

“No!” Setsuna shouted, startling Yuu. Setsuna then began to chuckle awkwardly, embarrassment creeping up her chest. “W-Whoops, sorry, I didn’t mean to shout. You are more than free to tell me whatever’s on your mind. I’m just trying to think of how I can help, Yuu-san.”

“Oh ok, good,” Yuu said. “I wouldn’t want to be a bother. And it’s okay, it’s just nice to have somebody to listen, you know?” Yuu stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she sighed. “I mean, usually I’d go to Ayumu about this sort of thing, but that’s clearly not an option. And my parents would freak if they found out I was feuding with her. And they’d pry too. I know they mean well, but…I don’t know…” Yuu glanced over at Setsuna and laughed bashfully. “Sorry, I’m totally rambling, aren’t I?” 

“It’s ok,” Setsuna said. “It’s important to talk about how you’re feeling, even if it’s a jumbled mess.” Setsuna smiled kindly. “Trust me, I’m always a jumbled mess when I try to say whatever’s on my mind.”

“Really? That surprises me,” Yuu said. “Although, during that confrontation we had on the rooftop, you were pretty awkward.”

“Hey!” Setsuna said with a pout. Yuu laughed goofily, and Setsuna sighed. “Yes, yes, laugh at my expense. You have to admit, you came at me pretty strong. How else was I supposed to react?”

“True, true,” Yuu said as her laughter died down. “Sorry about that, by the way. I guess I may have been a little too overzealous.”

“No,” Setsuna said with a firm shake of her head. “It was exactly what I needed. I can’t thank you enough for it.”

Yuu’s eyes widened for a moment in surprise before her face slipped into a contented smile.

“No thanks needed. I was more than happy to do it,” Yuu said. “Let the great Setsuna Yuki go into premature retirement? No way. It would be a disservice to idol fans everywhere.”

Setsuna bumped into Yuu’s side lightly.

“Okay, okay, don’t get ahead of yourself champ,” Setsuna said. “It’s not like I’m Honoka Kousaka, or something like that.”

Yuu looked thoughtful. “Yeah, you aren’t Honoka Kousaka, are you? Not even close.”

Setsuna’s brows knitted. “Okay, I already said that, jerk.”

“No, what I’m saying is that you’re Setsuna Yuki,” Yuu said, a winning smile on her face. “And you are absolutely perfect the way you are.”

Setsuna’s breath hitched, a hot blush rising up her neck. Did Yuu always have to be so blunt in her effect? Setsuna most certainly wasn’t perfect; she lacked many things and had many flaws.

Even so, it was nice to hear it. And believe it, if just for a little while.

“You are such a charmer, aren’t you,” Setsuna mumbled under her breath.

“Hmmm? Sorry, didn’t quite catch that,” Yuu said, feigning obliviousness. Setsuna rolled her eyes and grumbled.

“Not saying it again,” Setsuna said, eliciting a laugh from Yuu.

“Sorry, sorry, Setsuna-san. I can’t help it,” Yuu said. “You’re just too cute.”

Setsuna shut her eyes as the flush rose to her cheeks. She brought her bag in front of her face to block her rosy appearance from Yuu’s sight. Her heart pounded in her chest rapidly, like a series of palpitations.

“Enough, Yuu-san!” Setsuna tried to snap, but it was way too half-hearted in its delivery. Yuu continued to snicker, and Setsuna’s cheeks darkened even further. She needed to get a hold of herself. This behaviour was absolutely unbecoming of both Nana the student council president, and the cool and mysterious Setsuna Yuki.

“Okay, okay, I’m done, I swear,” Yuu said.

Setsuna gripped the sides of her bag tightly, a warm feeling tingling in her chest.

“You promise?” Setsuna said weakly.

“Yes, yes, I promise. You can put the bag down.”

Setsuna slowly lowered the bag, opening her eyes. They landed onto Yuu, who was smiling the warmest, brightest smile Setsuna had ever seen. It looked so perfect on Yuu’s face, like it was meant to be there permanently.

Her heart stilled, and it was suddenly like she was teleported to an alternate world, occupied solely by her and Yuu. The houses around them, the cars driving down the street, the trees swaying in the wind – everything in the vicinity faded into the background. Instead the world was just her and Yuu, their gazes interlocked. Setsuna felt so tightly connected to Yuu in that moment; it was like some higher power was threading their souls together, gently weaving their thoughts and emotions into one perfect link.

It was at that instant that a leaf gently drifted down from a branch hanging overhead, landing on Setsuna’s head.

Setsuna snapped out of the moment, her eyes glancing up to see the corner of the leaf out of her peripheral.

“That’s just my luck, isn’t it,” Setsuna said, moving to brush it away.

“I got it,” Yuu said, and Setsuna’s heart surged as Yuu leaned in and gently swept her hand across her hair, dislodging the leaf and causing it to fall slowly to the ground.

“T-Thanks, Yuu-san,” Setsuna stuttered. She was internally freaking out, waiting for Yuu to pull her hand away and step back.

Except, that’s not what happened. Yuu’s hand hovered in the air, not quite touching Setsuna, but being close enough to her cheek that she could practically feel Yuu’s touch. Yuu remained close, and her green eyes were flickering around Setsuna’s face, as if searching for something.

Setsuna’s mouth felt like cotton, and once again she was sucked into that dream-like state where her awareness only extended to herself and Yuu. Yuu’s eyes finally landed on her own, and the moment felt so intimate that Setsuna thought she might explode.

“Yuu-san, what are you…?” Setsuna finally said, the tension becoming too much to handle.

Despite the intensity of the moment, Setsuna couldn’t help but think about how the situation rung so truly to all of the romance manga she loved. The romantic scenery, the long-held gazes, it was truly perfect.

Of course, typically in romance manga, when a confession was happening too early, or there wasn’t sufficient buildup, something _had_ to happen to prevent it. The story had to be dragged out further so the manga authors and artists could get more money, of course. It was way too early for the leads to get together without more drama and resolution.

So, Setsuna supposed that she jinxed herself with what happened next.

“Take this!”

Setunsa and Yuu immediately turned to the road where the high-pitched shout had come from, and all of the sudden Yuu was hit directly in the nose with something. She stumbled backwards at impact.

Setsuna stared in shock before getting her wits about her to find the source of whatever had been thrown at Yuu. There was a car driving away, and a little boy was leaning out, sticking his tongue out childishly.

“Ha-ha losers!”

“What in the…Yuu-san!” Setsuna said, scrambling over to where Yuu was. It looked like in her shock she had tripped over her own feet and was now laying on her back on the concrete. Setsuna knelt down beside her, observing her closely. A white substance dripped down from her nose, and on the ground was the item that been thrown at her.

An ice cream cone.

“What just happened?” Yuu said, her eyes blinking in confusion. The ice cream that was on her nose continued to drip down her face, and eventually onto her lips. Yuu, perhaps subconsciously, licked her lips, and then looked absolutely delighted. “Mm, yummy!”

“Yuu, don’t lick it! You don’t know where that little boy has been,” Setsuna said, her nose scrunched in disgust. Little kids did things like eat dirt and slugs. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

Yuu sat up, leaning her weight against her palms that were on the ground.

“Me either.” Yuu said.

“Are you alright?” Setsuna asked.

“Yeah, it was just ice cream after all. Still…” Yuu said, looking thoughtful for a moment until her face broke into a grin. And then all of the sudden she was laughing heartily. “I c-can’t believe that just happened!”

Setsuna couldn’t fight the smile that was worming its way onto her face, and shortly she was dying of laughter as well.

“Did you see that kid’s face?” Setsuna said through her fits of laughter, her hands on her belly. “It was pure evil!”

“Why did he even do that?” Yuu said, hiccupping she was laughing so hard. Tears were pouring down her cheeks, mixing with the melted ice cream.

The whole thing truly was bizarre. It made for a good laugh, though, and that was just what Setsuna and Yuu needed.

“I hate when friends fight,” Ai said as she chomped down another fry. Rina sat to her right, slowly working through her burger, and Shizuku and Kasumi sat on the opposite side of the table.

They had decided to grab some fast food after practice had been cancelled once again. Ai had been hungry, and of course dragged Rina with her. Kasumi was in a sour mood since, so Ai decided to invite her along as well, and Kasumi forced Shizuku to come despite her protests.

“It’s really sad,” Rina said before taking a small bite of her burger. She chewed quietly and swallowed. “They are really good friends. I never thought we’d see them like this.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s super sad,” Kasumi said in the least genuine way possible as she picked at her burger. Shizuku shot her a sideways glance.

“That didn’t sound particularly sympathetic,” Shizuku pointed out.

Kasumi groaned. “Listen, I’m sorry. I really do feel bad for them, and I’m sad that they’re fighting, but I want practice to go back to normal! It sucks that it’s all awkward now.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Ai said, throwing three fries into her mouth and crushing them before she continued. “But still, it’s obvious that it’s really beating them both up. We have to do whatever we can to support them.”

“You’re right, I know,” Kasumi said with a pout. “But can’t we help them with their problem _while_ practicing like normal?”

“Well, imagine what it would be like if you and Shizuku-san got into a really big fight,” Rina said. “You probably wouldn’t be able to practice like normal, right? You might not even want to. I’m sure that’s how Yuu-san and Ayumu-san are feeling.”

“Me and Shizuko,” Kasumi repeated, her eyes drifting over to Shizuku. Shizuku was looking back at her, something gleaming in her eyes as if she was curious to hear Kasumi’s response. This was kind of surprising, considering all the times Shizuku ignored her or shot her down. At least, that’s what it felt like.

Kasumi looked away sharply, crossing her arms over her chest as a slight blush rose on her cheeks.

“Y-Yes, I suppose even the great Kasumin would be affected by something like that, maybe even enough to wreck her focus in practice,” Kasumi said.

“There you go,” Ai said with a smile. “So that’s why we gotta help them out! Speaking of which, we should figure out who will be with Ayumu tomorrow.”

“Yes, that is something we need to decide,” Shizuku said. Kasumi looked over and was momentarily surprised when she saw pink lightly dusted on her fellow first-year’s cheeks. However, it vanished within a moment, as if it were never really there.

Was she happy about what Kasumi said? No, no way. Shizuku probably couldn’t have cared less.

“Well, I don’t think a big group should go, it might overwhelm her,” Ai said. “I was thinking me, Rinari, and one of you guys would go.”

“That sounds fine,” Shizuku said. “What do you think, Kasumi-san? Do you want to go or me?”

Kasumi jolted when she realized Shizuku was addressing her. She had totally missed whatever Ai said, having been lost in her thoughts as she studied Shizuku.

Kasumi, though, was a master in the art of deceit.

“Sounds good to me!” Kasumi said with a thumbs up, wearing a quirky smile that was sure to entrance Shizuku – uh, convince Shizuku.

Shizuku’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Um, that didn’t answer the question.”

“We’ll just take Shizuku-san, then,” Ai said. “You okay with coming, Rinari? I didn’t really formally ask you.”

“I’m fine going wherever Ai-san is,” Rina said. “It’ll be fun with Shizuku-san, too. And I really want to help Ayumu-san out.”

A warm smile settled onto Ai’s face. “That’s good to hear.”

“W-what about me, Rinako?!” Kasumi said, looking absolutely dejected.

“It would be fun with Kasumi-san there too, of course,” Rina said.

Kasumi grumbled. “Your voice is so monotone that it isn’t very convincing,” she pointed out. She supposed Rina could say virtually whatever she wanted and get away with it, since she always sounded the same.

“That’s not very nice, Kasumi-san,” Shizuku said, jabbing her in the side with her elbow.

“Ouchie! You jerk,” Kasumi said. “I didn’t really mean it…Anyways…”

Kasumi trailed off as her gaze landed on Ai, who appeared to be smiling as she always did. However, there was an unsettling evilness about it, and fear crept up Kasumi’s spine as she shuddered.

“Oh Kasukasu, you should apologize to Rinari, okay?” Ai said chillingly, and Kasumi’s eyes widened in terror.

“Kasumin is deeply sorry, Rinako!” Kasumi said, facing Rina as she bowed her head. She had never seen Ai upset before, and it was truly something she never wanted to experience again.

“It’s okay, Kasumi-san. It didn’t really bother me,” Rina admitted, either completely obliviousness to Ai’s sinister expression or just unable to properly express her own reaction to it. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“It’s all g-good,” Kasumi said, her eyes flickering towards Ai who looked satisfied.

“Well, now that that’s all resolved,” Ai said. “I’m thinking of going to the arcade. Anyone wanna join?”

“I’ll go,” Rina said, grabbing her board from where it sat on the cushioned booth next to her. She picked it up and flipped to the appropriate page before holding it up to her face. It was the board making an excited expression. “Sounds like fun.”

“I’ll go!” Kasumi said, having completely moved on from her terrifying moment with Ai. She looked over at Shizuku. “Are you going to come, Shizuko?”

Shizuku was staring at the table, looking to be deep in thought. It looked like she hadn’t even heard what Kasumi had said.

“Looks like Shizuku-san is in la-la land,” Ai said with a grin.

“Huh?” Shizuku said, looking up. A perfectly crafted smile appeared on her face, one Kasumi knew to recognize. “Apologies, I got distracted. What was the question?”

“We were wondering if you wanted to go to the arcade with us,” Ai said.

“Oh! That sounds like fun, but I actually have to get home soon,” Shizuku said, her eyes glancing down to her watch. This was all very convincing, but Kasumi knew better – she was making a show of needing to get home. “You guys have fun, though!”

“You’ll have to come next time, Shizuku-san,” Rina said.

“Well, we better get going, then!” Ai said. Her and Rina moved to get out of the aisle, but Ai stopped when she noticed Kasumi hadn’t moved. “Aren’t you coming, Kasukasu?”

“Actually, I totally forgot that I promised Shizuko that I’d walk her home!” Kasumi said.

Shizuku looked puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

“Remember, this morning? You got down on your hands and knees and begged me to walk you home. You then proceeded to call me the cutest thing on the planet, and at that point I just couldn’t say no,” Kasumi said.

“That never happened,” Shizuku deadpanned.

“Well, that’s all good! We’ll all have to go together next time,” Ai said, somehow satisfied with the explanation. “See you guys tomorrow!”

“See you tomorrow in class,” Rina said with a wave.

Kasumi watched as they exited the restaurant, before relaxing against the back of the booth and sighing in relief. Another day, another victory.

“What was that about?” Shizuku asked. Kasumi looked over to see that Shizuku was looking at her strangely.

“What do you mean?” Kasumi said, feigning obliviousness.

“Nice try,” Shizuku said. “Why did you tell them you had to walk me home? You could have gone to the arcade without me, you know.”

“Because, I can tell something is up with you,” Kasumi said, straightening.

It was now Shizuku’s turn to be on the retreat. “What do you mean?”

“Something’s bugging you,” Kasumi said. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s something. So, spill. Was it something in drama club?”

“Kasumi-san, I’m telling you, it’s nothing.”

“C’mon Shizuko, we’ve been through this already,” Kasumi said. “You can be honest with me. I’m always going to here for you.”

Shizuku flinched in surprise at the sincerity of the statement. It almost looked like she was waiting for Kasumi to blanket her statement with some sort of joke to reduce the intensity of it, but Kasumi maintained her serious expression.

Of course, she had no way of knowing that Kasumi was internally squirming inside, a thousand thoughts running through her head about whether she said the wrong thing, or maybe Shizuku was fine and she was being overly suspicious, or –

“You’re right, of course,” Shizuku said, glancing down to her hands that were resting on her lap. “When did I become so transparent?”

“Trust me, it’s not nearly as obvious as you might think,” Kasumi said. “I’ve just learned to look out for it.”

“Kasumi…” Shizuku said, her fingers curling up to grip the fabric of her skirt. “To be honest, I think it’s a combination of things.”

Kasumi immediately felt relieved that Shizuku was talking.

“And what are these things?” Kasumi asked gently, nudging Shizuku forwards.

“Well, you were somewhat right. There’s been a lot going on in the drama club, as we’re having a performance soon after the School Idol Festival,” Shizuku explained. “On top of that, we have planning for the festival itself to do. And now there’s this conflict within our group…”

Shizuku trailed off, fear evident in her eyes, and Kasumi noticed that Shizuku’s hands were shaking. They weren’t shaking too badly, but it wasn’t slight enough to be overlooked. 

“I just can’t help but feel anxious, I guess,” Shizuku said. “I mean, it’s so dumb. Yuu-san and Ayumu-san have it far worse than I do, and yet I’m reacting like this. It’s so childish.”

Kasumi’s heart wrenched in concern, and without thinking she reached over to grab Shizuku’s hands. They felt like ice, cold enough to make Kasumi recoil, but she held strong and interlaced her fingers with Shizuku.

“It’s not childish,” Kasumi said. “You have a lot on your plate, too. I couldn’t imagine being a member of a different club and balancing all of this stuff.”

Shizuku looked over at Kasumi, unsure. “But Kasumi-san…”

“No buts!” Kasumi said resolutely. “Somebody else’s troubles don’t discredit your own, you know. So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can tell me.” Kasumi blushed despite herself. “Well, I guess it doesn’t _have_ to be me, it can be whoever, but the great Kasumin is always going to be a good option. For you. So, really, you should always come to me. But, like, I get if you don’t want to.”

Kasumi’s blush darkened as she trailed off. Ugh, why couldn’t she be calm and cool like Karin? Shizuku probably thought she was being a total doofus. Actually, she probably thought that she was one already.

Kasumi’s thoughts were broken by soft giggles, and she looked over to see Shizuku laughing. Kasumi’s ears tinged red in further embarrassment.

“Oi, what are you giggling about, Shizuko!” Kasumi said, frowning as Shizuku released her hands.

“You, obviously,” Shizuku said as she continued to laugh. Kasumi made a face of horror.

“Ugh, right to the point!” Kasumi said as if she were physically afflicted by Shizuku’s bluntness. “Even the great Kasumin can’t handle such a direct attack.”

“Jeez, you’re such a goof,” Shizuku said breathlessly.

Kasumi scowled. She really wasn’t good at this sort of thing. She had wanted to help Shizuku express herself better, but she had to go and be a weirdo and ruin it.

“Hey,” Shizuku said softly. Kasumi glanced back over and felt a soft pressure under chin. Her heart skipped in her chest once she realized it was Shizuku’s hand. “What are you frowning for?”

“I-I don’t know what you mean,” Kasumi stuttered, but eventually she withered under Shizuku’s direct gaze. “I just want to make you feel like you can express yourself with me. But then I have to go and be a dweeb.”

“Oh Kasumi,” Shizuku said, her smile knowing. “You’re so silly.”

Kasumi averted her eyes and huffed. “Yeah, I know.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Shizuku said. “I mean, just look at me.”

Kasumi looked back over at Shizuku, and her heart leaped again. It was hard not to, staring at someone as ethereally beautiful as Shizuku: she had soft porcelain skin, and gentle blue eyes. She was absolutely glowing, her smile as bright as the sun. How could you not be enamoured?

“I’m already feeling way better, and that’s because of you, Kasumi,” Shizuku said. “So, thank you for caring about me. I appreciate it more than you know.”

Kasumi shivered at Shizuku’s statement, her heart hammering against her ribcage. She wanted to make a snarky comment, something along the lines of how she was the greatest after all, but her mouth was suddenly drier than a desert. She swallowed, trying to snap herself out of it, but it was impossible.

Shizuku was too beautiful. Too charming. Too perfect.

_‘Oh my god, what am I thinking?!’_ Kasumi internally shrieking, her temperature shooting up to what felt like a boil.

“K-Kasumi?” Shizuku said, noticing the scarlet flush that was spreading across Kasumi’s face.

Kasumi immediately shot out of the booth, slipping out of Shizuku’s grasp. Unfortunately, she had leapt out so fast that she had tripped over herself, and she tumbled to the floor.

“Kasumi-san!” Shizuku said in surprise. “Are you alright?”

Kasumi got up immediately, her cheeks still thoroughly flushed. She felt nothing but embarrassment as the other customers at the fast food restaurant eyed her in confusion.

“I’m fine! Just took a humble little stumble is all,” Kasumi said in a voice that was way too loud to be convincing. “I just realized I need to go feet my cat Soosoo. So, I need to go right now bye!”

Kasumi darted out of the restaurant, leaving Shizuku stunned and alone at the table. She leaned back against the booth, frowning.

“Kasumi-san doesn’t have a cat.”

“Do you guys think I was too hard on Yuu-san?” Karin voiced before taking a sip of her iced coffee. Sometimes if practice ended a little early, the third years would hit a nearby café before Kanata had to go to work.

“Yup,” Kanata said before sinking her teeth into a chocolate pastry.

“K-Kanata-chan!” Emma said, surprised by Kanata’s bluntness.

“What? I just answered her question,” Kanata said with a shrug, chocolate crumbs on her lips.

“I mean, I guess I appreciate the honesty,” Karin said.

“Karin-chan, you may have been a little harsh,” Emma admitted. “However, I don’t think anything would have been resolved if nobody had said anything.”

“I agree,” Kanata said.

Karin cocked a brow. “You just said that I was too hard on Yuu-san.”

“I still think you were, but I also agree that nothing would have come to light if you hadn’t done it,” Kanata said.

Karin pursed her lips. “I guess I should apologize to her, huh?”

“That’s probably for the best,” Emma said. “I’m sure she doesn’t hold any hard feelings, but it’s still the right thing to do.”

“Yuu-san is a very sweet girl. She’ll probably accept your apology right away,” Kanata said.

“Ugh,” Karin groaned, leaning against the back of her chair. She couldn’t help the guilt that was churning in her stomach. She had been a little insensitive, hadn’t she? But it was simply because she wanted Yuu to admit the truth. She wasn’t trying to be mean.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Emma said. “Like I said, if you hadn’t said anything, we’d probably be stuck at square one right now.”

“Exactly,” Kanata said, fighting off a yawn as she took another bite of her pastry.

Karin cocked a brow. “Kanata-san, if you are so tired all the time, why don’t you drink more coffee?”

Kanata shrugged. “It doesn’t really help me. I don’t feel any different when I drink a lot of it.”

“Some people have higher tolerances to caffeine,” Emma pointed out.

“Maybe you should just carry sweets around with you at all times,” Karin suggested.

“Yeah, but I always crash really bad after I eat sugar,” Kanata said, her gaze flickering down to the pastry. “Which is why I probably shouldn’t be eating this…Feeling a little sleepy…”

“Karin-chan, you probably just said that so that _you’ll_ have access to candies at all times,” Emma pointed out knowingly.

“T-That is not true! I have good self control,” Karin fought back weakly.

“Mm, sure,” Emma said, lifting her mug to her lips to take a sip of her hot chocolate.

“Ah, to be shot down so immediately by you Emma,” Karin mumbled. “I didn’t anticipate that.”

“Oh, I’m just messing with you,” Emma said with a wink. “To be honest, I probably have the biggest sweet tooth out of the three of us.” Emma tapped her chin thoughtfully. “And salty tooth. What I wouldn’t give to have some of Kasumi-chan’s fresh baked bread.”

“True, that bread _was_ really good,” Karin admitted. She remembered the time Kasumi first had bought them bread, and she had initially decided she would have only one piece to fit her diet. She ended up having five. “Deadly.”

“That is definitely the word I would use,” Emma laughed, and a smile slipped onto Karin’s face. Her laugh was always so joyous, like the first bloomed flower of spring, or a child excitedly opening their present on Christmas morning. The kind of joy that radiated to the people around you, filling them with happiness too.

_‘Jeez, when did I get so poetic?’_ Karin thought, internally cringing at herself. She would just die if Emma heard her thoughts.

All of the sudden Karin heard a low chuckle, and she glanced over to see Kanata looking at her, laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Karin asked with a quirked brow.

“Oh nothing~” Kanata smirked. “Ok, I think I’m going to take a quick nap before my shift. Wake me up in ten you guys.”

With that, Kanata unceremoniously flopped onto Emma’s shoulder. Perhaps this would have shocked her before, but Emma had seen it coming from a mile away.

Kanata was fast asleep, and Emma looked down at her with a fond smile.

“Oh Kanata-chan,” Emma said softly as if not to wake the girl up. Karin knew it took a lot more than that to wake Kanata, though. Like a car alarm being blared into her ear.

“She’s like a little kid,” Karin mused, studying Kanata in intrigue. “She always looks so peaceful when she sleeps, though.”

“You would never expect her to live such a hectic life with how peaceful she looks,” Emma agreed. “I hope she’s taking better care of herself, at least…”

“Well, Haruka-san is supposed to be helping her out more around the house, right?” Karin said, which was met with a nod from Emma. “Hmm. Perhaps we should drop by sometime and check on her.”

Emma beamed. “That sounds like a wonderful idea! Maybe we could even prepare her dinner too.”

“That sounds lovely. I’m sure she’d appreciate that a lot.”

“And it would be so fun to get together and cook!” Emma chirped. “We could bake too! Remember that time we baked those shortbread cookies together?”

“Yeah, and you flicked flour all over my face?” Karin pointed out.

“Yeah!” Emma said. “That was so funny.”

“For you, maybe,” Karin said, exaggerating a sigh.

“Well, don’t act like you didn’t get back at me,” Emma said. “At least you didn’t end up with egg in your hair.”

“Yeah, I probably acted a little too severely,” Karin admitted. “Sorry about that.”

Emma giggled behind her hand. “It’s fine. You’ve already long since apologized. And it made for good memories, didn’t it?”

Karin flushed lightly. “Yes, I suppose it did.”

Emma continued to smile infectiously, her gaze flickering to the sleeping Kanata’s face.

“I’m really glad we got to meet Kanata-chan this year,” Emma said.

Karin hummed. “Yeah, for all the time she spends sleeping, she does make for good company,” Karin said, studying Kanata. She couldn’t help the creeping affection she felt from looking at Kanata’s sleeping face. “She’s like somebody you want to protect, you know?”

“I completely understand,” Emma agreed. “She’s the best friend I never knew I needed.”

Karin flinched. Emma’s statement stung. She certainly hadn’t expected _that_ to come out of Emma’s mouth.

“Well _that_ was telling,” Karin said through tight lips, failing horribly at concealing her bitterness. Karin was always good at concealing her emotions, but she was always terrible at hiding her jealousy. Did Emma really have to say that right in front of her?

Emma had the audacity to looked baffled.

“W-What are you talking about?” Emma said.

“About what you just said,” Karin said. Emma continued to stare at her blankly, and Karin felt frustration rise in her gut. “Whatever. Clearly you don’t get it, which means it really doesn’t matter. Anyways, I have a modelling gig in an hour, so I really should be –“

Karin was cut off by laughter, and she realized quickly that it was Emma giggling that stupidly beautiful giggle.

“W-What’s so funny?” Karin asked, her voice a mixture of irritation and confusion.

“You’re so quick to jump to conclusions as usual, Karin-chan,” Emma said. “I thought you were Mrs. Rationality?”

“I am rational,” Karin said with a frown.

“Kanata-chan is my best friend,” Emma said. “Because you are my soulmate, silly.”

Karin blinked.

“O-Oh, well,” Karin said, a blush rapidly exploding across her cheeks as she wrapped her fingers around her iced coffee cup. She then made a show of nodding before she lifted up her cup. “Coffee,” she said stupidly and then took a sip.

At that Emma burst into laughter, and Karin swore she never felt stupider and happier in her entire life.

Ai, Rina, and Shizuku had departed to go find Ayumu, leaving the rest of the club members to try and focus on their own preparations for the upcoming School Idol Festival.

Setsuna and Yuu had originally planned for today to be the day they met with the representatives of idol clubs from other schools to discuss their plans and potential venues. Setsuna had been worried that they were going to have to cancel, but with Yuu being in a somewhat better mood, they decided to press on with the meeting.

The meeting went reasonably well, Setsuna supposed. All in all, the goals of the meeting were met. Now with things adequately planned out with the other school idol groups, it was really looking like things were coming together for the festival.

However, Yuu was still very much out of it. She had barely pitched in during the meeting, leaving basically all the explaining to Setsuna. She obviously understood that Yuu was still upset, but she would have appreciated a little bit of help.

But when she noticed the dejected look on Yuu’s face, she couldn’t help but feel sympathetic for her. Obviously Yuu wanted to be excited – she loved school idols, perhaps even as much as Setsuna did herself. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to be excited. It was that she couldn’t be.

_‘Not without Ayumu’_ Setsuna decided as they exited the café where they had all met up. Yuu still looked solemn as they walked down the street back to Nijigasaki. They were going to check on how everything was going with the rest of the girls before heading home.

“I’m sorry, Setsuna-san,” Yuu eventually said. “I know I should have been more vocal during the meeting.”

“It’s alright, Yuu-san,” Setsuna said. “I know it’s not for lack of trying.”

“But still, it’s unfair of me to do. It was unfair to you.”

“Hey, really, it wasn’t that big of a deal. I _am_ the student council president after all. I can handle myself,” Setsuna said with a little bit of pride. The statement made Yuu smirk.

“Ah, so the truth comes out,” Yuu said. “The prideful student council president.”

“H-Hey! I was trying to make you feel better. While complimenting myself at the same time.”

“At least you admitted it,” Yuu said with a grin. “And yeah, I know you can handle yourself. But we’re a team. I’ll do better next time, okay?”

“I expect nothing less, Yuu-san,” Setsuna said with a nod.

Yuu beamed as they continued their stroll to the school. It was another pleasantly warm day, the sun still shining brightly despite it being late afternoon. Setsuna breathed in deeply, feeling exhilarated by the clear air as she soaked in the sun.

“Are things any better with you and Ayumu-san?” Setsuna pried gently.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to walk on eggshells around me,” Yuu said, noticing Setsuna’s hesitance. “And no, not really. We texted briefly, but it really didn’t lead to anywhere.”

Setsuna hummed, lips pursed in thought. “Perhaps it’s best if you sit down and have a conversation.”

“Yeah, I think we need to,” Yuu said with a sigh. “It’s just – I don’t want things to go bad, you know? It’s almost like I prefer being in this weird limbo then having something go even more wrong.”

“I think I can understand that,” Setsuna said. “With things going on as they are, you can at least reasonably predict the events of the next day, and the day after, and so on so forth. However,” Setsuna said, looking directly at Yuu. “Are you actually content with that sort of arrangement?”

Yuu didn’t react for a few moments. But then she shook her head.

“No, I’m not,” she said. “Ayumu is my best friend. And I miss her so much.”

“And you’ve been friends since childhood, right?” Setsuna said, to which Yuu hummed. “Then you can’t just throw that friendship away. Being friends for that long – you have a meaningful, true friendship.” Setsuna smiled. “It’s something a lot of people could only dream of. So, don’t throw it away.”

“You’re right. As per usual, Setsuna-san,” Yuu said.

“Oh, come on, that’s a little much,” Setsuna said, a smile creeping onto her face. “However, I can’t say I find the statement to be false.”

The two descended into laughter, so bright and airy that its cheer seemed to hang in the air. Eventually they both quieted down.

“We’ve been spoiled with this weather lately, haven’t we?” Yuu pointed out.

“Hey, don’t jinx it,” Setsuna said. “We want to have good weather for the festival too.”

“Ah, my bad,” Yuu said, kneeling down quickly to knock against the concrete. “There, we should be okay now.”

Setsuna quirked a brow. “I thought it was knocking on wood that warded off bad luck?”

“Well, concrete is harder, right? It probably does just as good a job,” Yuu pointed out as she stood back up.

“I hope you’re right,” Setsuna said, excitement gleaming in her eyes as she pumped her right fist. “I’ve got to have perfect weather for my performance!”

“I bet you’re really excited,” Yuu said, eagerness present in her voice as well.

“Of course! I feel like it’s been a while since I performed. And this time it’s going to be on a great big stage, customized for me!” Setsuna cheered. “Imagine if my parents knew about that? They’d be totally shocked.”

“Do your parents not know anything about, well, your connection to school idols?” Yuu asked.

Setsuna shook her head. “Nope. They couldn’t know less if they tried.”

“Wow,” Yuu said. “Do you ever wish you could talk to them about it?”

“Yeah,” Setsuna admitted, holding the straps of her bag tightly. “I mean, being a school idol is something a reasonable person would want to share with their parents, right? It would be nice to have somebody I know cheering me on.” Setsuna threw her hands up in defense. “Not that I don’t appreciate all the fans that come, of course! They are very important to me as well. But still – I would like my parents to be proud of me for something other than my academic achievements.” Setsuna frowned as she dropped her hands. “Proud of me for being who I really am.”

The air turned heavy, and Setsuna immediately regretted spewing out all that stuff. Yuu was already dealing with tons of baggage, and it wasn’t like talking about her situation with her parents was going to solve anything. They were always going to be stuck in their ways. And Setsuna would always be forced to live a lie in front of them.

“That’s really tough, Setsuna-san,” Yuu said.

Setsuna glanced over to see Yuu looking up at the sky. Clouds were floating lazily across, the tufts of white hovering so closely together that it almost looked like one gigantic cloud.

“I couldn’t even imagine what that’s like. My parents aren’t super keen on school idols, but they support me in every single way. I guess I never realized how lucky I was,” Yuu said. “I don’t think I can say anything to make what you’re going through any easier, but at the very least I can let you know with full assurance that I’ll always be there to cheer you on. Even if they aren’t.”

Yuu wasn’t looking at her with her typical sunny smile. Instead it was a deadly serious expression, as if the words emanated with the deepest part of Yuu’s core. She wasn’t joking around. She wasn’t saying these words just to make Setsuna feel better. It really seemed like she meant them.

“I mean, don’t forget,” Yuu said, her right palm landing on her heart while her other hand clutched her bag. “You’re the one that made me feel this way, remember? The heart pumping exhilaration of school idols. I couldn’t be more grateful.”

“I-I,” Setsuna stuttered, suddenly at a loss for words. It was just like when they had met on the rooftop. Yuu somehow had a way of stunning her into silence.

“Sorry, that was a lot, wasn’t it?” Yuu said with a giggle. She looked ahead. “Hey, there’s the school! Time flies when you’re having fun.”

Setsuna snapped back to reality, following Yuu’s gaze to where the school indeed was. There were still some students roaming around despite classes having ended several hours ago. In fact, there was a familiar pink haired girl running around.

“Wait, isn’t that Ayumu?” Yuu said, halting.

“I think it is,” Setsuna said, her gaze drifting over to Yuu, then back to Ayumu. Ayumu seemed to be frantically looking for something, with the way her eyes were daring around the campus, and Setsuna had a pretty good idea of who that might be.

Setsuna swallowed, and then with a bit of resolve, she turned towards Yuu and gently shoved her forwards.

“Ack!” Yuu said, stumbling a few feet forwards before she caught herself. She turned back to Setsuna with a frown. “What was that for?”

“What do you think, dumbie?” Setsuna asked. “She’s looking for you.”

Yuu glanced back over to where Ayumu was, her head still bobbing in all directions as she searched the school.

“You think so?” You said, sounding very unsure.

“I know so,” Setsuna said confidently. “There’s nobody else she’d be looking for like that, that I’m sure of.”

“B-But what do I even say?” Yuu said. “What if it all goes wrong?”

“It won’t, trust me,” Setsuna said. “You’ll find your words once you get to talking. But you have to _do_ the talking to ever reach that point.”

You chewed the bottom of her lip nervously. Maybe Yuu was right – maybe this could go all wrong. But Setsuna found that to be a very microscopic chance. However, if Yuu and Ayumu never talked, there was a far larger chance of their friendship ending.

“I believe in you, Yuu-san,” Setsuna said. “Now go already!”

“Setsuna-san,” Yuu said, looking stunned for just a second. A resolute expression appeared on her face, and she nodded firmly. “Okay, I’m off. Thank you for everything, Setsuna-san!”

And with that, Yuu darted off to where Ayumu was, her bag flapping in the wind behind her. Setsuna watched her closely, following her all the way until she reached Ayumu.

The two shared a brief exchanged before they started walking off in the direction of their homes. It was impossible for Setsuna to read their expressions at such a distance, but somehow, she knew in her heart that everything was going to work out perfectly for both of them.

Heck, they’d probably walk out of this stronger than before. People did say those who survived the greatest lows would experience the greatest highs, or something like that. They would probably be inseparable for the next couple of days, which was totally understandable. The two had barely exchanged hellos in the last three or four days – they were probably starved for each other’s attention.

The whole thing was touching, really. And Setsuna was glad that she was able to help them out. It was what a good student council president would do, she supposed. And now everything would return to exactly the way it was before. Truly, what more could she ask for?

“Huh?” Setsuna said, feeling something trickle down her cheek. That’s weird – did it start raining? No, there wasn’t any rain coming down.

Perhaps she was just sweating from the heat. If so, that was embarrassing. Yuu could have been considerate and pointed it out. She placed a hand to her forehead but found that it was completely dry.

_‘What the?’_ Setsuna thought as the wetness continued to trickle down her face rapidly, dripping down her cheeks before plummeting to the concrete below.

That was when she touched her fingers right under her eyes, and it hit her.

“I’m…crying?” Setsuna said.

Yeah, she was. And her chest was throbbing painfully.

_Earlier that day._

“Hmm, well I understand where you’re coming from,” Ai said, leaning back against the couch in Ayumu’s living room as her, Rina, and Shizuku listened to what she was saying.

“Yeah, that’s why I think this fight has been, well, our worst one ever,” Ayumu said, her face strained.

“I can’t help but feel like I might just react the same way if someone tried to take Rinari away from me,” Ai said. “Not to say that Setsuna or anyone else _is_ taking Yuu away from you, but I can see how it would be perceived that way.”

Rina nodded; her cheeks were lightly dusted in pink at Ai’s statement.

“It’s only natural to be upset when you feel like you’re losing something you care about,” Rina said.

“Yeah, if somebody I really cared about started spending a lot of time with someone else…” Shizuku said, trailing off as she looked at her hands. “I have to admit, I wouldn’t be happy about it either.”

“Well, that makes me feel the slightest bit better, at least,” Ayumu admitted, her arms wrapped around her knees. She was sitting on the carpeted floor while the other three sat on the couch. “Still, I can’t help but feel like I dealt with it in the worst way possible.”

“No, there are definitely worse ways to deal with it,” Ai said reassuringly.

“You were honest with your feelings,” Shizuku said. “That means you have already done a really good thing.”

“But me being honest with my feeling landed in me in this position,” Ayumu pointed out.

“It would have been a lot worse if you had just ignored your feelings,” Rina said.

“I guess that’s true,” Ayumu said. “But where are we supposed to go from here? I was honest with how I felt – what comes next?” Ayumu sighed, sounding exhausted. “It’s so confusing.”

“Well, I guess it depends on what you want from Yuyu,” Ai said.

Ayumu looked up at Ai. “What do you mean?”

“Do you just want her to yourself? Do you want her to spend more time with you?” Ai said. Ayumu’s face twisted at the questions, and Ai frowned. “I’m not trying to sound mean or judgemental, or anything. But I think we have to recognize the root of the problem.”

“I guess so,” Ayumu said. “It’s just so hard being honest.”

“You can trust us, Ayumu-san,” Rina said.

“We won’t look at you any differently,” Shizuku agreed. “You mean the same to us as Yuu-san does.”

“Which is a lot, of course!” Ai chirped, and the two first years nodded in agreement.

Silence occupied the room for a few moments, and then Ayumu’s lower lip quivered.

“T-Thank you, guys,” Ayumu said, touched. She seemed to be contemplating something deeply before she nodded resolutely. “Ok, here’s what I was thinking…”

Finally, things had returned to normal. The relief in the club was paramount as Yuu and Ayumu began to interact with each other just like they had before the blow up had happened. And it was good timing, too, considering the School Idol Festival was just in a few days.

Setsuna studied the rest of her clubmates happily. Karin, Emma, and Kanata were happily chatting about their plans for their respective stages, discussing how they should go to some café after to celebrate. Rina, Ai, Shizuku, and Kasumi were also eagerly discussing their performances, with all of them promising to watch each other’s recorded versions once the festival was done.

And last but not least, Yuu and Ayumu were laughing about something on the couch. Everything had really come full circle. It was almost like the last couple of days hadn’t even happened.

Yep, things were exactly as they should be.

“Well, I think we should all discuss where we will be having our performances!” Yuu said, and Setsuna snapped out of her daydream. She hadn’t even noticed Yuu get up and approach where the rest of them were sitting at the table, Ayumu close beside her. “I know it’s too bad that we won’t be able to attend each other’s performances, but we should support each other in spirit.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Kanata said. “I want to hear about what everyone’s got planned.”

“Me too!” Ai said cheerfully. “ _Ai_ ’d love to hear what everyone was planning.” She then winked exaggeratedly, to which Karin sighed.

“You are the worst,” she mumbled.

“Don’t hate what you don’t understand, Karin,” Ai said with a smirk. 

Setsuna listened attentively as everyone divulged into their individual plans. She had to admit, it was thrilling to hear about all the amazing things people had done to individualize and decorate their stages. From where the performances took place, to the interesting quirks that were added to each stage to be catered towards the idol performing there – it truly was spectacular.

“Wow! All of your stages sound amazing!” Setsuna said, her eyes gleaming.

“Jeez, you’re like a little kid with how excited you get,” Karin said, although her tone was nothing but fond.

“I’d like to hear where you are performing, Setsuna-chan!” Emma said. “I’m sure you have something awesome planned.”

“Ooh – will you have flamethrowers and fireworks, or something?” Kasumi blurted out, triggering everyone to look at her. “N-Not that I care, or think Setsuna-san’s stage will be nearly as impressive as mine, but…”

“What Kasumi-san _means_ to say is that she’s curious about what you did to decorate your stage, as am I,” Shizuku said. “And that she’s sure that your stage is going to be really cool. Right, Kasumi-san?”

“O-Oh yeah, that’s totally what I meant,” Kasumi said.

“Yeah Setsuna-san, tell us,” Ayumu said with a warm smile.

“Guys, it’s Setsuna Yuki, come on,” Yuu said, her eyes glancing around the room before landing at Setsuna. Once their eyes locked, Setsuna felt that pain in her chest again, and she wanted to do nothing more than look away. “I’m sure whatever you have planned is nothing short of extraordinary.”

The way Yuu said those words, like Setsuna really was extraordinary, just made her want to curl into a ball.

_‘Please, don’t say things like that, Yuu-san. Not anymore’_

“Trust me, it’s not that special,” Setsuna said, her gaze flickering away from Yuu as she scratched the back of her head. “Truth be told, I’m just performing here at the school.”

Yuu looked shocked. “Wait, really? But I thought you said you wanted to perform on a big stage.”

“I was going to do that at first, but I had a change of heart,” Setsuna admitted. “Nijigasaki is where I began my school idol journey; it was where Setsuna Yuki was born. I think it would be fitting to do my performance here.”

“You’re not quitting again, are you?” Rina said, holding up the board making a worried expression.

“No, nothing like that,” Setsuna said reassuringly once she noticed the concerned expressions of her clubmates. “I don’t know. It just hit me one day, and I felt like I really needed to perform here.”

Kasumi pouted. “Does that mean you won’t be having any cool special effects?”

“Unfortunately not,” Setsuna said with a laugh.

“Where exactly are you performing, Setsu?” Ai asked. “In the auditorium?”

“No,” Setsuna said with a shake of her head. “I’m going to perform on the roof. The weather is supposed to be really good that day, so it should be perfect.”

“Hey, don’t jinx it now,” Karin said jokingly.

“Don’t worry – I had somebody ward off bad luck for me already.” Setsuna said without thinking, a smile creeping onto her face at the memory of Yuu knocking on the concrete.

After realizing what she had said, the smile vanished from her face. She didn’t dare look at Yuu. The temptation was so severe, it felt like her head might just move without her permission, but she was able to constrain herself.

“Well, I hope they warded that bad luck off well and good, because my stage is outside too,” Ai said.

“So is mine,” Ayumu said. “Bad weather would sure put a wrench in things.”

“Hey, we gotta stop talking about it you guys,” Kanata said. “That’ll just make the likelihood of it happening go up.”

“Is that really true?” Emma asked.

“I highly doubt it,” Karin said. Kanan smiled mirthfully.

“Mm~ A non-believer, I see,” Kanata said. “I sure hope it doesn’t rain on your stage, Karin-chan.”

“Mine is indoors,” Karin said nonchalantly.

Kanata frowned. “Drat.”

“Moving on,” Shizuku said. “I just want to say that I wish everyone nothing but the best of luck in their performances. I’m sure you will all do a fantastic job. I would have loved to have gone to each one of your performances to experience them myself. But I can be content knowing that you guys are going to have so many fans cheering you on.”

“Aww, that was really sweet Shizuku-chan,” Emma said.

“Consider me touched,” Karin agreed.

“Ooh – little Shizuku-chan is just as cute as a button, isn’t she?” Kanata said, reaching over to pinch Shizuku on the cheeks.

“Hey, Kanata-san!” Shizuku said with a pout.

“Shizuku-chan does have a way with words,” Rina said with a nod.

“Yup! I’m totally fired up,” Ai agreed. 

“W-wait! I have something to say too!” Kasumi blurted out, and everyone immediately looked at her. They had all expected her to say something that she thought was inspirational in an attempt to overshadow what Shizuku said. That was just what Kasumi did.

Instead, however, Kasumi looked over at Shizuku and nodded firmly.

“Thank you, Shizuko, for your kind words. I think we can all agree that we wish the best of luck to you, too,” Kasumi said. “K-Kasumin wishes you a little more luck than everyone else, though. So obviously she’s the most important.”

“K-Kasumi-san,” Shizuku said in surprise. The rest of the club were equally shocked by Kasumi’s honesty. Of course, she was able to slip in that she was the most important somehow. But it was different.

She wasn’t saying she was the most important in the club. She was saying she wanted to be the most important to Shizuku.

“Wow! Look at Kasukasu being all mature!” Ai said, sweeping an arm around Kasumi’s neck as she used her free hand to rub Kasumi’s head. “Wasn’t that touching?”

“A-Ai-san! Unhand me,” Kasumi yipped. “And for crying out loud, don’t call me Kasukasu!”

Ai merely laughed boisterously over Kasumi’s complaints, much to the younger girl’s chagrin. Shizuku, on the other hand, was watching the whole exchange tenderly, the blush on her cheeks evident.

“All in all, Shizuku-san’s right!” Yuu said, garnering the attention of the club members. “Your performances are all going to be nothing short of fantastic. Unfortunately, I might not be able to come to all of your performances. But know this – there is always somebody in the audience supporting who cares about you a lot. Now, let’s do this thing!”

The rest of the club members cheered in response. This would be a successful event. They had put in way too much hard work for it not to be.

Setsuna glanced down at the table. Then why did she feel so sad?

The day of the festival was a mad dash to get everything ready. Setsuna did feel a little bit more comfortable preparing for her performance, considering it was in her own school. Also, since her stage didn’t require nearly as much set up or maintenance, it didn’t take the volunteers who were helping her all that long to make sure everything was in order.

“You look great, Yuki-san!” the girl doing her makeup said. She was a member of the Cosmetics club, and many of its members had volunteered to assist the girls in looking their best for their performances.

“Thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to do this,” Setsuna said from her seat. They were in the girl’s locker room, a couple other volunteers in the room chatting about something. “Oh, and you can just call me Setsuna.”

“R-really?” the girl squeaked, to which Setsuna nodded in her typical friendly fashion. “Wow, this is so cool. Setsuna-san, I actually happen to be a really big fan, which is why I’m so happy to be doing your makeup right now.”

“I’m so touched!” Setsuna said, her cheeks warming slightly at the compliment. It was always amazing to get to meet new fans. To have people like her music – that was the greatest feeling in the world. “If there’s anything I could do for you, I’d be more than willing. To pay you back for all you and your clubmates have done.”

“Oh, I really don’t want anything from you,” the girl said as she began to lightly brush some blush onto Setsuna’s cheeks. “Although, I would really appreciate an autograph, if that’s alright…”

“Consider it done!” Setsuna said. “Once you’re done with my makeup, I’ll be more than happy to!”

The girl squealed in delight before she quickly composed herself.

“I’m sorry. That really wasn’t professional.”

Setsuna laughed. “Don’t worry – you’ll find I’m not really the most professional either.”

Setsuna always followed through with what she said, and once her makeup was done (which was way better than whatever she used to do for herself), she promptly signed the autographs for the girl who accepted them gratefully.

“Alright Setsuna-san, it’s time to get mic’d up,” another volunteer, a member of the Theater club, said.

Nervousness blossomed in Setsuna’s stomach, but it was quickly overwritten by the enthusiasm that was swelling in her heart. This was it, her big performance – the moment she was waiting for.

After having her costuming fitted and adjusted by members of the Fashion club, she was mic’d up by the Theater club and AV club, and then finally led through a quick meditation with the Wellness club. Truly every single Nijigasaki club was pouring their hearts into the School Idol Festival, and Setsuna couldn’t have been more grateful.

“Before I go on stage everyone, I just want to say thank you so much for all of your hard work. I appreciate it more than you could all ever know,” Setsuna said, bowing from where she was at the top of the staircase leading onto the roof.

All of the different club members on the steps below accepted her thanks humbly.

Although, one of them piped up. A boy from the AV club.

“Yuki-san, who are you really?” he said with a toothy grin, as if he already expected he was going to receive a non-answer.

In turn, Setsuna grinned.

“Nobody special, really,” Setsuna said. “Just somebody you might have passed in the hall, once or twice.”

With that, she spun around and opened the door to the roof. She stepped out, noticing the different decorations hung up on the rails. Everything was coloured red, to go with her theme, and the decorations included things like red balloons, lights, streamers – everything you could think of to make the railings look like a real stage.

Sure, it wasn’t professional. Perhaps it was the furthest thing from it. But that was what made her Setsuna Yuki.

That’s what made her a school idol.

As she stepped closer to the edge of the roof, she noticed the massive crowd that had gathered. Once the fans saw her, they immediately exploded in excitement, their cheers resonating throughout the schoolyard.

Setsuna’s heart swelled in her chest at the reaction. Many of them were holdings signs, posters, images, anything to show Setsuna their support. Yes, she had definitely chosen the right spot to perform.

Although there was one small thing nipping at her in the back of her mind. She had all of these amazing, wonderful supporters. But she didn’t know a single one of them. None of their faces belonged to any of her close friends.

_‘Ugh, what am I thinking? Why would she…’_

It was stupid, and with a firm shake of her head, Setsuna completely abandoned the thought.

It was time to perform. And Setsuna Yuki always put on a show.

“Hello everyone!” she said, the mic picking up her voice and projecting it across the entire school. The fans screamed in excitement at her words, and even though most of it was garbled, there was one clear thing she could hear.

“Setsuna! Setsuna! Setsuna!” they chanted her name rhythmically, filling her with more and more energy by the second.

“I’m so happy that you all came out to see me today! I couldn’t be more grateful for all of your support. It’s truly touching.” Setsuna pumped a fist into the air. “So that means I’m going to be really giving it my all today to show how much it means to me! I hope you guys are ready!”

The response she was met with was a clear _yes, we are ready,_ and with that Setsuna began to sing, the music queuing in right on time.

The set of songs went absolutely swimmingly. Her choreography was on point, she hit every note, and all of the equipment was working exactly as intended. All in all, it was pretty much a perfect performance thus far. She only had one more song left before she was done.

As she breathed heavily to catch her breath, her eyes glanced over the audience. She was so high up that it was hard to make out individual faces, but she could still recognize basic features – hair color, height, weight.

So, when she saw a small girl, with raven hair tied into pigtails, their tips dyed green, standing at the very front with a large poster, she knew she wasn’t seeing things.

“Yuu-san,” she muttered to herself. Of course, she had completely forgotten that she had a microphone on, and what she said, even though it was quieter, had been projected to everyone in the schoolyard.

Immediately a blush of embarrassment snaked up her neck. But then she noticed the girl from before jumping up and down, as if in response to what Setsuna said, waving the poster in her hands around wildly.

Setsuna could make out the words, even from the furthest distance.

_I’m here for you, Setsuna!_

Setsuna’s breath hitched, her heart pounding in her ribcage, and not because of her exhaustion from performing. Yuu was here. Yuu was here for her.

“Alright you guys, I’m sad to say that there’s only going to be one song left,” Setsuna said. The fans made disappointed sounds, and Setsuna quickly cut in, “But don’t worry. I guarantee this will be the best one yet!”

And it truly was. Setsuna, having the peace of mind of Yuu being there, could finally sing with every inch of her soul. She moved gracefully, sang beautifully, and all together was truly, truly happy.

It was Setsuna Yuki’s best show yet.

The final song ended, and once again Setsuna thanked her fans. After saying her final goodbye and bowing, she walked towards the roof’s entrance and stepped through it.

Immediately she was met with a chorus of cheers. Setsuna made sure to go to each person who contributed to her stage and thanked them personally for their efforts.

She then headed down the stairs down to the first floor, walking down the hallway to the entrance.

Setsuna, of course, planned on going out to meet a couple of her fans. A couple members of the Martial Arts club offered to act as her bodyguards, which was honestly impressive. School idols weren’t insanely popular to the point of warranting overly attached fans (well at least, Setsuna believed _she_ wasn’t popular enough). However, she didn’t want to risk it, and neither did the rest of the idol club members.

Yuu had probably long since left – there was no way she could stay at her performance for very long when she had so many other things to keep track of.

“Setsuna-san!”

Setsuna’s heart stopped in her chest, and she looked up to see Yuu jogging towards her from the direction of the school’s entrance. There were a bunch of other fans waiting outside, but the bodyguards must have let Yuu in as she was really the organizer of the entire event.

“Yuu-san!” Setsuna said in surprise, a smile breaking out across her face. “You came!”

“Of course I did,” Yuu said, slowing to stop once she was several feet away. “I said I would, didn’t I?”

“W-Well, I suppose,” Setsuna said, kneading her hands shyly. “But, there’s so many other things going on.”

“Come on, have some faith in me,” Yuu said with a winning smile. “I would never commit to something and not see it through.”

“Well consider me impressed,” Setsuna said with a smile.

There was a momentary pause as the two girls just smiled at each other, both of their hearts filled with joy.

“I’m just happy you saw me in the audience,” Yuu said. “I was really worried you wouldn’t.”

“How could I not with the way you wildly threw that poster around?” Setsuna said with a giggle, eliciting a laugh from Yuu.

“Yeah, I guess I probably looked like a freak,” Yuu said. “But it was worth it in the end. You saw me, after all,” Yuu said with a soft smile.

“Yeah, I did,” Setsuna nodded.

“Your performance was absolutely amazing, Setsuna-san,” Yuu said, placing a hand on her chest. “It gave me that same feeling all of your performances gave me. And it was so cool being surrounded by all of your fans! They really love you.” Yuu tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Well, I guess I’m a fan too!”

“T-Thank you, Yuu-san. I’m happy to hear that,” Setsuna said.

“It was the greatest performance I’d ever seen. I’m so glad I got to see the whole thing!” Yuu chirped.

Setsuna’s eyes widened. “Whole thing? What do you mean?”

No. There’s was no way that Yuu had been there the whole time. There were other performances going on that were equally as important as hers. If Yuu had just dropped in for the last couple of minutes, that would have been totally understandable.

“Yeah! I showed up right on time,” Yuu said, looking somewhat proud of herself. “Of course, it took me forever to squeeze past everyone and get to the front, which was kind of annoying. But then you noticed me, so it was totally worth it.”

Setsuna couldn’t help the electric spark that shot through her body. Yuu had seen her entire performance. She really had been by her side the whole time, cheering her on.

That was truly all she could ever ask for.

“Yuu-san…From the bottom of my heart, I’m grateful,” Setsuna said. “The fact that you watched my whole performance, it’s touched me in a way I don’t think I could ever properly express. I’ve always wanted somebody I care deeply about to watch me perform.” A tender smile crept onto Setsuna’s face. “So, thank you, Yuu-san!”

Yuu blushed at the authenticity of Setsuna’s words, and she shyly scratched her neck.

“O-Oh, it was really nothing. Trust me,” Yuu said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Setsuna said with a roll of her eyes. She slowly walked towards Yuu, sweeping towards her like a predator closing in on her prey.

Yuu blinked in confusion, studying Setsuna’s movements as the shorter girl got closer and closer.

“Uh, Setsuna?” Yuu said.

Eventually Setsuna was hardly a foot a way. Setsuna could feel the warmth of Yuu’s body radiating off of her, and there was something deeply comforting about it. She wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in it, feel its heat around her.

Setsuna placed both her hands on Yuu’s shoulders, smirking playfully. Yuu blinked in confusion, before all of the sudden Setsuna twirled her around and pushed her forwards down the hallway.

“Ack!” Yuu said, stumbling before catching herself. She twirled around, glaring at Setsuna. “Hey! You need to stop doing that.”

Setsuna brought a hand up to her mouth and giggled spiritedly.

“Sorry, but it really is hilarious to see your reaction,” Setsuna admitted.

Yuu placed her hands onto her hips and sighed. “What did you do that for anyways?”

“Why do you think?” Setsuna said. “You need to go.”

“Go where?” Yuu said, her voice filled with confusion as she quirked a brow.

“What do you mean ‘where’? To Ayumu-san’s performance!” Setsuna said with a humorous roll of her eyes. “Gosh, you can really be dense, can’t you?”

“Why would I go there?” Yuu asked.

“Uh – Yuu-san!” Setsuna said, now slightly annoyed. “Why do you think? Ayumu-san is waiting for you.”

“No, she’s not,” Yuu said. She lifted her wristwatch up to meet her gaze. “Her performance should have ended around twenty minutes ago.”

Setsuna’s jaw dropped to the floor in shock. How was Yuu being so nonchalant about this whole thing? Didn’t she remember that her and Ayumu had just had a near friendship-breaking fight? And that Ayumu pretty much treasured her more than anything in the world?

Setsuna didn’t even _need_ Ayumu to tell her that. It was just so obvious using basic human observational skills.

“You didn’t go?” Setsuna said sharply. “Don’t you think she’s going to be really upset?”

“Nope,” Yuu said. “I talked to her right before her performance, so she understands.”

Setsuna flinched in surprise. “You did? And she was okay with it?”

“Yup,” Yuu said. “You see, when we finally talked things out, we figured out why things had gotten to such a rocky place between us,” Yuu explained. “It’s because we were so codependent. We always felt like we needed the other around to be able to do anything. But the truth is, is that now we have the School Idol club. And all these new friends.” Yuu grinned. “Of course, we’re still going to be best friends, and we’re always going to support each other. Just with others around us, too.”

“W-Wow,” Setsuna said in surprise. That was news to her. To be fair, it wasn’t like she hadn’t spoken much to Yuu in the days leading up to the School Idol Festival, so it wasn’t like the girl had much of an opportunity to tell her. “That’s good, I guess?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Yuu said. “It might be a little hard for a bit, but I think it’s what’s best, you know?”

Setsuna nodded slowly. “I suppose so. I mean, whatever you guys think is best, of course.” Setsuna pursed her lip. “However, I still don’t get why you came for my entire performance. Don’t get me wrong – I obviously appreciate it. But I still think the other girls would have appreciated it if – “

“They all knew, don’t worry,” Yuu said.

Setsuna was, once again, left completely shocked.

“They all knew?” Setsuna repeated.

“Yeah, I asked if they would all be okay if I came to see your entire performance, and they said they were more than okay with it!” Yuu said. “So that gave me the go ahead I needed.”

“Oh…I see…” Setsuna said, trying to think of something more articulate to say. But what _should_ she say? She still didn’t really understand why Yuu had seen it so important to come to her performance specifically. Yes, they had that conversation about Setsuna’s parents, but really Setsuna would have been more than contented if Yuu had just briefly popped in like she had initially assumed.

“Sorry, I just don’t really know what to say,” Setsuna said.

“O-Oh, well, yeah,” Yuu said, looking very bashful all of the sudden. “I guess it might seem kind of weird for me just to come to yours. I didn’t mean to creep you out, or anything.”

“It’s not that!” Setsuna said, catching Yuu off guard. “I just don’t understand. You haven’t answered my question, not really at least.” Setsuna looked down at the ground. “Why me? Why did you come to see just my performance?”

“Setsuna-san, isn’t it obvious?” Yuu said, walking back over to Setsuna. She effectively closed the distance that Setsuna had made by shoving her away, and with each approaching step Setsuna’s heart pounded in her chest. Louder. Louder. Louder.

Until she was right there, hardly a couple inches away. Her soft skin, her green eyes, the bridge of her nose. That perfect smile.

“I love you, Setsuna-san,” Yuu said, her hand over her chest were her heart lie under the protective shielding of her collarbone. “You made me feel this way.”

It was at that moment Setuna’s world flipped completely on her head. Her brain short-circuited – there was no way she could believe what Yuu was saying, let alone process it.

Setsuna wasn’t meant to be with anyone else. She was meant to be alone, whether it was in the student council room, in her room at home, heck, even in the presence of her parents she was still truly alone. She was meant to be a quiet observer, a hand when people needed one, the push to give others the confidence they needed.

Setsuna…wasn’t meant to be loved by anyone. Not by Yuu.

“Oh no, Setsuna-san, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Yuu said, her hands settling onto the sides of Setsuna’s arms where she gripped her gently. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way!”

“Yuu-san,” Setsuna said through her tears, glancing up at the green-eyed girl hovering over her. “You truly mean what you said?”

“Absolutely,” Yuu said without a hint of hesitation. “I want to always be by your side, Setsuna-san. I-If you’ll let me, of course.”

A dark blush spread throughout Yuu’s cheeks, making Setsuna flush scarlet in turn. She lifted up her hands, letting them rest on Yuu’s collarbone. From her right hand she could just barely perceive Yuu’s heartbeat; it was rapid, and there was something satisfying about the way it steadily beat against Setsuna’s palm.

“I-I don’t get it,” Setsuna said quietly, staring forwards at Yuu’s neck instead of into her eyes. “Why would you like someone like me?”

“Hmm,” Yuu hummed thoughtfully, glancing up at the ceiling. “Well, I guess I could say something like, ‘I like you the way your fans do’, but I’d like to think I know you on a much deeper level.” A smile overtook Yuu’s face. “I like everything about you. How driven you are, how you’re totally a prude, that you like to sleep before eleven o’clock, that you want nothing more than to see the others around you succeed, how dedicated you are to everything you set your mind to, and that you’re completely selfless.” Yuu looked down at Setsuna. “But it’s okay to be selfish every once in while, remember?”

Setsuna gently curled her fingers around the collar of Yuu’s shirt.

“So, you’re saying it’s okay for me to be selfish?” Setsuna said. “It’s okay for me to pursue what I want?”

Setsuna didn’t even have to look at Yuu. She could sense the wide-spread, charming, beautiful smile that was adorning Yuu’s face.

“Of course!”

A surge of warmth erupted in Setsuna’s chest, her heart pounding so rapidly that it was almost painful. The tension was too thick; she needed a release.

“Yuu-san,” Setsuna said, angling her head to look Yuu in the eyes.

“Yes, Setsuna-san?” Yuu prodded gently.

Setsuna smiled. “I love you, too.”

Setsuna then leaned in, connecting her lips to Yuu’s, and the overwhelming feeling of happiness and fulfillment filled her to the brim. The thread that had been weaved between her and Yuu’s souls was finally set on fire, and the warmth was so intoxicating, so addicting.

Yuu immediately reciprocated, and they continued to slowly kiss each other, not dedicating any time to catching their breaths as they leaned back in every time one tried to pull away.

Eventually Setsuna felt the strain in her lungs due to the lack of oxygen, and she finally pulled away far enough so that she wouldn’t be sucked back into the entrancement. She inhaled rapidly to catch her breath, noticing that Yuu was doing the same. Yuu’s cheeks were slightly flushed, her eyes glazed over, and the sight made Setsuna’s heart pitter-patter.

“Wow, that was awesome,” Yuu said dumbly. Setsuna rapped her on the arm, earning her a glare from Yuu. “Hey! What was that for?”

“Couldn’t have you said something a little more romantic?” Setsuna said with a roll of her eyes.

“Okay, okay,” Yuu said, placing a hand under Setsuna’s chin. This effectively shut Setsuna up, who gasped in surprise at the sudden contact. “It was absolutely perfect.” Yuu quickly leaned in and pecked Setsuna on the lips. She then moved backwards, dropping her hand. “Better?”

“Y-Yeah,” Setsuna said, dazed.

Yuu laughed. “Perfect.” Yuu then moved forwards to interlace her hand with Setsuna’s, who was looking at her curiously. “Well, we better get out there. Those fans probably have been waiting a while.”

“You’re coming?” Setsuna said in surprise.

“Well, yeah. Just consider me your third bodyguard,” Yuu said, flexing her free hand’s bicep. Setsuna deadpanned.

“That’s not very impressive.”

Yuu puffed out her cheeks. “Well, whatever. It’s the thought that counts.”

“You’re right,” Setsuna said, squeezing Yuu’s hand, which was clearly enough to appease her considering the smile that settled on her face. “Well, then we better go. A good idol doesn’t leave her fans waiting.”

“And you are the greatest idol,” Yuu said with a cheeky grin.

Setsuna didn’t even bother pretending to be annoyed. She just smiled and soaked up the compliment. This was something she could get used to.

**Author's Note:**

> this was sort of my love letter to setsuna, who isn't even my best girl lmao (*hint*it's kasukasu). i feel like she got totally jipped in terms of characterization in the anime, since she was mostly used as a plot convenience to have there be tension between yuu and ayumu. that's just my opinion, anyways. and don't get me wrong - i love ayumu, and i think yuu/ayumu is a good ship. i just can't help but ship setsuyuu with all my soul, which def puts me in the minority. 
> 
> oh well. at least i have shizukasu. hope you all enjoyed the story :) it's a little long winded, but oh well.


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